Dispensing container



Dec. 26, 1961 J. c. WILSON 3,014,637

DISPENSING CONTAINER Filed Oct. 2, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VENTOR.

Dec. 26, 1961 J. c. WILSON DISPENSING CONTAINER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 2, 1959 INVENTOR. 34 /4/1/s 6 Msw/ Dec. 26, 1961 J. c. WILSON 3,014,637

DISPENSING CONTAINER Filed Oct. 2, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN V EN TOR.

Filed Oct. 2, 1959, Ser. No. 844,139 7 Claims. (Cl. 229-39) This application relates to the construction of a container adapted to be formed from a blank of corrugated paperboard or the like, particular features thereof being specially pertinent to a container adapted to hold a flexible and collapsible sac filled with liquid or other flowable material.

The specific embodiment here selected for illustrating the characteristics of the container under discussionis one adapted for the storage and shipment of appreciable quantities of liquid such as milk, designed to be substituted for and to supplant the use of multiple-gallon milk cans made of metal. Shipment of milk in cans presents many problems. The cans themselves are of appreciable weight, thus adding to transportation expense. Moreover, the cans are so costly that they cannot be discarded, but must be returned empty to their point of origin. In many public eating places there are bulk milk dispensers into which the milk cans are bodily placed, and the use of the containers of the present invention greatly facilitates the insertion of bulk milk supplies into such dis pensers in condition for ready dispensing therefrom.

It has been proposed to transport bulk supplies of milk and other liquids in sealed flexible sacs of polyethylene or other appropriate material, those sacs having dispensing tubes extending therefrom. The sacs themselves have neither the strength nor the shape-sustaining capacity to be shipped and transported as such. It is necessary to place them within rigid containers. In accordance with the present invention a container is produced which is specially designed to receive such sacs when filled with liquid, to keep them in a sealed and sanitary condition during transportation to the point of use, and to facilitate the dispensing of the contents of the sac therefrom.

To these ends the container of the present invention is provided with a bottom wall and a false bottom wall defining a space therebetween, the sac being adapted to be supported within the container on the false bottom wall with the dispensing tube from the sac received and sealed in said space between the bottom wall and the false bottom wall. The false bottom wall is reliably retained in position within the container by being engaged with appropriate integral parts of the container body, the construction being such that the false bottom wall can be positioned within the container in a facile and foolproof manner. The bottom wall of the container is defined by sections foldably connected to the side walls I thereof which interengage and interlock with one another sO as to make the container self-locking and which also assist in retainingthe false bottom wall in place. When dispensing is desired a tab on the bottom wall is moved out of the plane of that wall, thus producing an aperture through which the dispensing tube connected to the sac may pass, and hence facilitating access to the tube and permitting extension of the tube from the container for dispensing purposes.

The point at which the tube is connected to the sac is the only point where the contents of the sac can escape therefrom. The sac itself will collapse as its contents are withdrawn. In order to ensure that all of the sac contents are dispensed therefrom, with no liquid being trapped in the sac as the latter collapses, the false bottom wall is preferably supported within the container in an inclined position, with the point at which liquid escapes from the sac being at a lower elevation than the hce d remainder of the sac. Hence complete emptying of the sac is ensured.

The design of the container is such that it may be expeditiously and inexpensively formed and erected from blanks of corrugated paperboard or other comparable inexpensive sheet materials.

To the accomplishment of the above, and to such other objects as may hereinafter appear, the present invention relates to the construction of a container as defined in the appended claims and as described in this specification, taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the blank from which the container body is formed;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the blank from whichthe false bottom wall is formed;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a shape-retaining panel which may be inserted in the top of the container;

FIG. 4 is a three-quarter perspective view, taken partially from below, showing the erected container;

PEG. 5 is a three-quarter perspective view of the bottom end of the container with the bottom end wall in partially open condition, the container being inverted;

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 66 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view'taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. 4 and showing the flexible sac and dispensing tube in position, the tube being partially extended from the container for dispensing purposes; and

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view taken along the line $-8 of FIG. 1.

The container body is adapted to be formed from the blank of corrugated paperboard or the like shown in FIG. 1. That blank comprises a plurality of vertically elongated side wall panels 2, here shown as six in number to produce a container of hexagonal cross section, connected to one another by means of foldlines 4. An over.- lapping flap 6 is connected to one of the extreme side wall panels 2 by means of foldline 8. The side wall panels 2 at one end (here termed for purposes of reference the upper end in accordance with the position which the container assumes during dispensing) have flaps 10 connected thereto by means of foldlines '12, those flaps being provided with notches 14 in known fashion so that they can interlock with one another when the container is erected to form the container top wall.

Foldably connected to the lower edges of two airs of adjacent side wall panels 2, by means of foldlines 16, are pairs of triangular bottom wall flaps 18 defined on one side by cuts 20 and on the other side by foldlines 22. The foldlines 22 connect the flaps 18 of each pair with auxiliary sections 24, and those auxiliary sections 24 for each pair are connected to one another by means of foldlines 26 along which slots 28 are formed. Foldably secured to the lower edges of theother side wall panels 2, by means of foldlines 30, are the flaps 32, and these flaps are provided at their ends with foldlines 34 which connect them to extensions 36. The end edges of the extensions 36 are provided with notches 38 and their side edges are provided with notches 40 or slits 42.

Certain of the foldlines 4, here designated 4a, 4b and 4c, are intersected, at points spaced somewhat above the foldlines 16 and 313*, with cuts 44a, 44b and 440. These cuts extend short distances into the adjacent side wall panels 2, and their ends are connected to the foldlines 4a, 4b and 40 respectively by means of converging foldlines 46a, 46b and 460 respectively, thereby defining essentially triangular portions 47a, 47b and 47c bisected respectively by the foldlines 4a, 412 or 40. As may best be seen from FIG. l, the cut 44b is located closer to the lower edges of the side wall panels 2 than the cuts 441: and 440, and the cut 44b is in two parts, one on each 3 side of the foldline 4b, each of those parts being inclined away from the foldlines 16 and 30. The cuts 44a and 440 are located at approximately equal distances from the foldlines 16 and 30, and each of them is oppositely inclined in a direction comparable to that part of the cut 44b which is nearest them.

One of the flaps 32 is provided with a section 48 defined along one edge by foldline 50 and along its other edges by cuts 52. One of the side wall panels 2 is provided with a section 54 defined along one edge by foldline 56 and along its other edges by cut 58. The sections 48 and 54 are normally in the plane of the panels in which they are formed, but are bendable out therefrom for purposes which will become apparent hereinafter.

The false bottom wall may be formed from the blank shown in FIG. 2. It comprises a wall panel 60 having a peripheral shape substantially corresponding to the internal shape of the erected container, and flaps 62 are connected to the side edges thereof by means of foldlines 64. These flaps may themselves be provided with substantially bisecting foldlines 66. As may clearly be seen from FIG. 2, the flaps 62 differ in length, for reasons which will become apparent hereinafter. The panel 60 is provided with an opening 68 near the shortest of the flaps 62, and one of the flaps 62, here shown as the longest one, is provided with an opening 76 of a size comparable to that of the side wall panel section 54.

The container is adapted to receive a flexible sac 72, shown in FIG. 7, which may be formed of rubber or plastic sheeting such as polyethylene, that sac having a dispensing opening 74 communicating with a nipple 76 to which a flexible elongated dispensing tube 78 is secured. The nipple 76 is of a size and shape such as to enter into the opening 68 in the false bottom wall 60. The sac 72 is adapted to be filled with milk or other appropriate liquid or flowable material.

The first step in the erection of the container is to bend the side wall panels 2 about the foldlines 4 to form a tube of hexagonal cross section, the flap 6 overlapping the right hand end wall panel 2 of FIG. 1 and being secured to it in any appropriate manner, as by means of adhesive or staples. The top wall flaps 10 are then folded about the foldlines 12 and interlocked with one another to close the top of the container. The container is then inverted so that its open end is uppermost and then, if desired, an appropriately configured shape-retaining panel 80 is dropped into the container so as to rest upon the top wall defined by the flaps 10.

The filled sac 72, with its nipple 76 uppermost and positioned opposite the side wall panel portion 54, is then placed within the container through the open uppermost end of the container. Next the side wall panel portions 47a, 47b and 47c are pushed out of the planes of the side wall panels 2 and into the interior of the container, bending about the foldlines 46a, 46b, 46c and those portions of the foldlines 4a, 4b and 40 which pass through them. The edges of the portions 47 defined by the cuts 44 will therefore constitute abutments on the inside of the container which are located at different distances from the edge of the container, but which are uniformly inclined relative thereto so as to define a single inclined plane. The false bottom 60 has its flaps 62 bent up therefrom and is inserted through the open end of the container so as to rest upon the upper edges of the sections 47. It will, because of the location and orientation of those edges, be supported within the container in an inclined position relative to the axis of the container and the side walls 2 thereof. The shortest of the fiaps 62, which has a height corresponding to the distance between the cut 44b and the foldlines 16 and 30, is located substantially in line with the supporting section 47b, and the lengths of the other flaps 62 are so chosen that when the false bottom wall 60 is supported in its proper inclined position as determined by the edges 4 44a, 44b and 440, the upper edges of the flaps 62 will extend substantially to the foldlines 16 or 30. The flap 62 which carries the opening 70 will extend up along the inner surface of the side wall panel 2 having the section 54, the opening 70 being in registration with the section 54.

The dispensing tube 78 will, as the false bottom wall panel 60 is inserted into the container, be threaded through the opening 68, and when the false bottom 60 is in place the nipple 76 of the sac 72 will be received in that opening. The dispensing tube 78 will be folded upon itself, accordion-fashion, so as to rest on the false bottom wall 60 and be completely within the side wall panels 2.

Next, and as may best be seen in FIG. 5, the flaps 18 are folded about the foldlines 16 so as to partially overlie the open end of the container, while the auxiliary sections 24 are folded down inside the container, the slotted foldlines 26 which connect the auxiliary sections 24 then extending angularly into the container, as may best be seen from FIG. 6. Thereafter the extensions 36 are folded about the foldlines 34 to a position substantially at right angles to the flaps 32, and the flaps 32 are folded about the foldlines 30 so as to close the open end of the container, the extensions 36 being bent down into the spaces between the auxiliary sections 24. The portions of the extensions 36 between the notches 38 and the notches 40 or the slit 42 are forced through the slots 28 to positions snapping beneath the foldlines 26, as may be seen in FIG. 6, so as to lock the container in completely erected condition. The extensions 36 have a height such as to substantially engage the false bottom wall 60, thereby assisting in retaining that false bottom wall against movement away from the side wall portions 47, the proper location of the false bottom wall 60 being further ensured by the flaps 62 secured thereto which extend up to the foldlines 16 and 30 and therefore are engaged by the flaps 18 and 32. Thus when the container is again inverted, with the flaps 18 and 32 at the bottom, which is the normal position for the container during dispensing, the false bottom wall 60 will be reliably supported in position and will in turn be capable of supporting the weight of the sac 72 and its contents.

When the container is to be transported the flaps 18 and 30 are uppermost and the side wall section 54 is bent up around the foldline 56 inside the flap 72 (see FIG. 5) so as to provide a hand-hold by means of which the container may be manipulated.

The dispensing tube 78 is normally retained in a protected position completely inside the container proper. When dispensing is desired the container is oriented so that the flaps 18 and 32 are lowermost and the section 48 of the flap 32 is bent down out of the plane of that flap along the foldline 50 (see FIG. 7) so as to provide access to the space between the bottom wall (defined by the flaps 18 and 32) and the false bottom wall 60. Access is thus provided to the dispensing tube 78, which may be pulled out from the container and directed to any desired location for dispensing. If only partial dispensing is required, the tube 78 may be refolded into the space above the bottom wall 18, 32 and the flap 48 may be moved back into the plane of the flap 32.

Since the bottom wall panel 60 is located in an inclined position, and since the sac nipple 76 is substantially at the lowest point (see FIG. 7), all of the sac contents will be dispensed, and it is virtually impossible for any of those contents to be trapped within the sac as the latter collapses.

The structural and functional cooperation of the various parts of the container permit its formation from blanks of appropriate material with minimal waste. The carton may readily be erected without trouble or difiiculty. The proper orientation of the false bottom wall panel 60 is ensured by means of the side wall panel portion 47ac. The false bottom 60 is supported with sufficient strength Whenthe container is in dispensing position by the interaction between the flaps 62, 18, 32 and 36. Both ends of the containers are self-locking. Means are provided which facilitate the handling of the container. The structure is such that the dispensing tube 78 is protected when protection is desired and is readily accessible when dispensing is to take place.

While but a single embodiment of the present invention has been here disclosed, it will be apparent that many variations may be made therein all within the spirit of the invention as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A container comprising side walls, opposed pairs of first flaps foldably secured to the end edges of corresponding adjacent side walls and at least partially overlying the end of said container, the flaps each of said pairs of first flaps being connected to one another by auxiliary sections foldably connected thereto, said auxiliary'sections being bent down from said first flaps into said container and being connected to one another by a slotted foldline, second flaps foldably securedto the end edges of others of said side walls and, with said first flaps, substantially completely closing said end of said container and defining at least in part an end wall of said container, said second flaps having edges in registration with said slotted foldlines, to which edges extensions are foldably connected, said extensions extending through said slotted foldlines and interlocking with said auxiliary sections.

2. In the container of claim 1, a false end wall between said side walls and spaced from said end Wall, said extensions engaging said false end wall, thereby assisting in retaining said false end wall in position.

3. The container of claim 2, in which said false end wall is supported in said container in a position inclined relative to said side walls by engagement with inbent portions of said side walls.

4. The container of claim 2, in which said false end Wall has side flaps bent relative thereto and extending along at least some of said side walls to said end wall.

5. The container of claim 2, in which said false end wall is supported in said container by engagement with inbent portions of said side walls.

6. The container of claim 2, in which portions of said side walls have theirlower edges severed from the re mainder of said side Walls and bent inwardly from said side walls so as to make an acute angle therewith, said portions terminating in downwardly facing surfaces spaced above said bottom wall, said false end wall being supported in said container by engagement with said surfaces of said side wall portions.

7. The container of claim 2, in which portions of said side Walls have their lower edges severed from the remainder of said side walls and bent inwardly from said side walls so as to make an acute angle therewith, said portions terminating in downwardly facing surfaces spaced above said bottom wall, said false end wall being supported in said container byengagernent with said surfaces of said side wall portions, said false end wall having side flaps bent relative thereto and extending along at least some of said side walls to said end wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,039,026 Carter Sept. 17, 1912 1,647,581 Redemski Nov. 1, 1927 1,669,617 Kennedy May 15, 1928 1,909,649 Bayless May 16, 1933 1,925,298 Boeye Sept. 5, 1933 2,188,732 Vogt Jan. 30, 1940 2,537,151 Mires Ian. 9, 1951 2,723,795 MacKenzie Nov. 15, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 543,237 Great Britain Feb. 16, 1942 

